“How about you?” I turn to Xavier, not wanting him to feel left out. “Where are you from?”
“I live here on the West Coast. I own a custom cycle shop. In fact,” he says, reaching into his pants pocket, “I brought this for you.” His fingers brush mine as he hands me a small figure. It’s a toy, small like a Matchbox car, but it’s a motorcycle, and it’s painted with pinkish-purple tones.
“Thank you,” I say, squeezing it in my palm before looking at it again. “This is actually my favorite color.”
“I know.” Xavier grins, long lashes curling over his dark eyes. “I also looked you up.”
This stranger knowing my favorite color might sound stalkerish, but it only makes sense for the men to try to learn about me. Besides, I feature the orchid color on my Instagram a lot, so it wouldn’t take much browsing to learn this detail about me. I’m touched by his thoughtful gesture.
When I meet Xavier’s eyes again, I decide that he’s dangerous. With the tattoos and his sexy, riveting gaze, bad boy vibes radiate off of him like a beacon, and I need to resist. I’m not here for a fling, no matter how much fun that fling might be.
Marcus is frowning; maybe he thinks it looks bad that he didn’t bring a gift for me.
“I hope to see you both later,” I tell the men.
“Or maybe just me,” Xavier says, his brown eyes sparkling. Yep, dangerous.
3
So many men
In the back row, I gather five of the men together, but quickly realize that the more of them I meet at once, the harder it is to remember their names. One that stands out is Johnny. He’s wearing leather and eyeliner. Maybe I need some kind of therapy to get past my bad boy fixation?
Flitting back to the middle section – though, at this point, the row structure has partially dissolved – I introduce myself to Gerard, a chef dressed exactly how you’d imagine, and Sean, a red-headed fisherman, who somehow still looks cute in chest-high rubber waders and a vest pinned with fly lures. I get them talking to each other about the best way to cook fish, and then I move on.
Next, there’s Caleb and James, who portray the interesting contrast between city and country. Instead of shaking my hand, James, with his tailored, pinstripe suit and smooth, slicked-back dark hair, lays a kiss on the back of my hand. Not to be outdone, Caleb, who has close-trimmed light brown hair and a deliciously bulky build wrapped in snug denim and flannel, grasps my offered hand and twirls me in a dance move.
“I’ve been asking everyone about their profession, so let me guess,” I say, sizing the pair up when Caleb releases me. “You’re a telemarketer,” I tell country boy Caleb, “and you’re a coal miner,” I say to the impeccably-dressed James.
“How did you guess?” James says, not skipping a beat. His deep voice sends tingles across my skin.
“And you,” Caleb says, taking my hand again while he looks me up and down, “are an angel come to earth.” With a grin spread across his face, he steps closer and looks behind me. “Where are your wings?”
“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m no angel.”
“That’s fine by me,” James says, quickly picking up on my meaning and filling his words with filthy intention.
I like these two. Charming Caleb and naughty James. “So tell me about yourselves, really,” I say.
“Well, when I’m not making all those telemarketing calls, I run a ranch in Texas.” An image of Caleb astride a horse, riding across the plains at sunset, fills my mind.
“I’m an investment manager in New York,” James says. I imagine him after work, savoring top-shelf bourbon in a dark nightclub, the lights of the city glittering in the background.
What wildly different lives they must lead. Could I see myself fitting into either of these pictures?
I could happily spend more time with these two, but there are more men waiting. What a hard, hard life I’m living at the moment, I think with a smile.
As I head toward the back row, Natalie, the producer I’ve worked with the most, appears at my side. “Olivia, I don’t know how viewers will like the group introductions. Why don’t you do the rest one-on-one and we can change up the order in editing?”
“Oh, okay. No problem.”
“You’re doing great,” Natalie says before lowering her voice so only I can hear her. “See any potential here?”
I nod. “Yes, maybe too much.” I can’t say I’ve felt sparks with everyone, but I haven’t encountered any men who’ve turned me off at first sight. After these introductions, the plan is for me to mingle with them all for a while, and then we’ll immediately do the first commitment ceremony, where I have to send some men home.